{"id":170115,"date":"2018-08-28T03:41:53","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T03:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=170115"},"modified":"2018-08-28T07:42:03","modified_gmt":"2018-08-28T07:42:03","slug":"everything-you-might-want-to-know-about-cycling-in-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2018\/08\/28\/everything-you-might-want-to-know-about-cycling-in-north-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Might Want to Know About Cycling in North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nuclear tests, ballistic missiles, communist ideology, the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family, and the recent inaccessibility made North Korea a mysterious country. Yet, the ice is slowly melting, and the country opens to the rest of the world, including cyclists.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For its name might be translated as a flat land, the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang should be geographically bicycle-friendly. Ironically, cycling was banned till 1990 because it was officially considered incompatible with \u2018the fluency of the traffic\u2019, presented by the leading Workers’ Party of Korea.<\/p>\n

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A local resident cycles past the building of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea.\u00a0\u00a9 Profimedia, TASS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While in neighbouring China the progress from walking over cycling to motorised transportation has been natural, North Korea tried to introduce cars as the major mean of transport and therefore bicycles were put aside by law. Without exaggerating, the streets of Pyongyang were entirely clear of bicycles until the first half of the 90s. However, with the deficiency of available vehicles, the official doctrine had to be revised and despite the enormous purchase price, bicycles became popular in the entire society. According to official statistics, each family owns one or two bikes these days.<\/p>\n

As long as you can sacrifice sporty rides, you’ll be pleased by the quality of local brand \u201cSongchong-gang\u201d with step-through frames and baskets on the handlebars. Some cheap bikes from China are also available, however, people mostly prefer second-hand bikes delivered from Japan. All bicycles must be registered and provided with plates like cars.<\/p>\n